Heart of the Tiger
by DJ Lady Moony
Summary: the Z Fighters rescue a young girl from underneath a pile of rocks, they discover she’s a Saiyan... One who’s being hunted by a wild Saiyan named Karanin and for some reason, is strangely familiar to Vegeta...
1. Saiyaness

Goku looked down at his youngest son, a boy of 18, and shook his head. He was at home with his family; Vegeta and his family; Piccolo; Gohan's wife, Videl and their young daughter, Pan. Just doing nothing- well, the ladies were inside cooking, but the guys were doing nothing. The earth had been as back to normal as it could get for a short time and things were going pretty smoothly... until Goten had a strange feeling.

"Goten," said Goku, "I hate to say it, but I think your senses are off- this new Saiyan you're sensing can't be real- otherwise the rest of us could sense him."

"Dad, I'm serious!" cried Goten, "I can sense another Saiyan somewhere on earth! It's a weak signal, but I can still feel it." He bit his lip for a moment, then had an idea. "I'll find him. Give me a few minutes, then you can lock on to me and join us!" Before anyone could change his mind, Goten was gone.

Goten flew around until he wasn't quite sure where he had ended up. The presence of the Saiyan was stronger than before, but not as strong as his father's, brother's or even his own. He started looking around- the Saiyan had to be hurt, which was probably why his signal was so weak. Suddenly, he came across an arm sticking out from underneath a pile of rubble. Without wasting a second, Goten turned Super Saiyan and began to move the rocks.

"Whoever you are," he called, "just hang on! I'll get you out!"

Goku sensed Goten's signal, then looked at Gohan, his oldest son and shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you think Gohan?" Goku asked, "Could your brother be sensing a new Saiyan?" Gohan shook his head.

"I'm not really sure, Dad," he said. "Truth is, I can kinda feel it too, but I don't know what to make of it."

"Well, lets go find Goten." Goku replied, "Trunks, Vegeta, Piccolo- you in?" Vegeta hadn't been paying any attention to the conversation, but 19-year-old Trunks was more than excited.

"Definitely!" he cried, "Let's go!" Piccolo nodded his agreement. Suddenly, the four of them were gone and Vegeta was left alone.

"Hey!" he said, "What the...?"

Goku used instant transmission to teleport himself, Gohan, Piccolo and Trunks to Goten, who was moving rocks off of what looked like a person's body. When Goten saw his father he only had two words to say: "Help me." Trunks instantly turned Super Saiyan and helped Goten moved the rocks. The others managed to help the way they were.

Moments later, they saw the body underneath was that of a young girl. She was pretty beat up- her Orchid colored vest, which was worn over a sky blue t-shirt, and pants of the same purplish color were torn. Around her arms were two almost identical bracelets, one each wrist- silver chains with dragon charms. The dragons on her right were red, on the left were white. She had bruises up and down her arms, her short black hair was messy, her face was scratched, except around her eyes, where she was sporting a pair of broken blood-red framed glasses... and speaking of blood, there was some trickling down from the corner of her mouth. Goten just stared at her, his jaw hanging open. Goku looked at him, a confused expression on his face.

"Goten?" he asked, "Are you okay?" Goten nodded, but still looked off in a daze.

"She's beautiful."

Suddenly, the girl started to move, cuing Trunks and Goten to power down to regular Saiyans. Her hand went up to her forehead and she let out a quite moan. A second later, she opened her eyes and looked at the people around her. Her eyes looked full of fear for a second, but when they calmed down, they were soft, kind- almost child like.

"Am I dead?" she asked. Goku shook his head.

"No, you're not dead." he replied, "My name is Goku..."

"Goku?" she asked, a trace of a smile on her face. "My mother told me all about you- do you remember a girl named Arale?" Goku thought back to when he was a kid and he spent his time looking for the Dragon Balls, especially the four star ball that had belonged to his grandfather. His journey had taken him to Penguin Village where he had met an amazingly fast young girl by the name of Arale.

"I remember her." he said, after a short time. "She was a good friend." The girl's smile faded.

"She was a good mom, too."

"I'm sorry," said Gohan. The girl shook her head, as if to say no problem.

"She died a long time ago. I was looking for the Dragon Balls, so I could bring her back, when... I don't know, a fireball came out of nowhere. The next thing I knew, you guys were here."

"What's your name?" asked Goten. The girl looked over at him and smiled.

"Gokéa," she replied. "Gokéa Li. I heard your voice when I was under the rocks- what's your name?"

"Goten." The young Saiyan became lost in her eyes- they were brown in color and they sparkled in the sunlight, taking his breath away.

Suddenly, Vegeta appeared out of nowhere. He looked around at everyone and was about to ask what was going on when Gokéa suddenly became scared. Her face turned pure white and her eyes became very wide.

"You!" she said, as she began to shiver uncontrollably. She passed out a moment later. Everyone looked at Vegeta.

"Dad?" asked Trunks "Do you know her?" Vegeta nodded.

"Yes," he said. "I killed her mother."

Trunks couldn't believe what his father was saying. He knew that Vegeta had killed people before, but Trunks never thought Vegeta would kill a single woman, no matter what the reason. And as he looked at his father, Trunks noticed something he never thought he'd ever see- Vegeta actually looked remorseful.

"What happened, Dad?" Vegeta looked down at his son and shook his head.

"It was before you were born, Trunks," he began. "Not long before I came after you, Kakarot. I was fighting with an old enemy of mine, Karanin, near a place called Penguin Village. He and I had destroyed most of the town before coming upon a small house on the outskirts. There was a little girl, her." He pointed at Gokéa. "She was playing out side and Karanin was flying right in front of her- I never saw her until it was too late. I sent a Gallic Gun his way and he moved, leaving the girl in the line of fire. Suddenly, her mother came and took the blast for her. Karanin escaped and I was left there, looking at a crying little girl."

Vegeta paused his story. He seemed to be trying to remember something and after a few moment, he finally did.

"She looked up at me with a fire raging in her eyes," Vegeta continued. "And something happened that I still don't believe." Piccolo looked at him, a confused look on his face.

"What?" he asked. Vegeta looked at him, nothing but seriousness expressed on his being.

"She turned Super Saiyan."

As his company looked at him like he was nuts, Vegeta thought back to what he had saw. A slip of a girl looking up at him with nothing but pure hatred in her eyes. Suddenly, she started to yell and clenched her fists together. Seconds later, an orange glow surrounded her and her hair went from jet black to golden blonde, her brown eyes turned blue-green. The next thing Vegeta knew, the girl was in the air and heading right for him. She started throwing punches like there was no tomorrow. There was something else about that day that Vegeta knew was important, but he couldn't seem to grasp what it was. He snapped back to the present and looked at Goku.

"Did the girl give a name?" he asked. Goku nodded.

"Gokéa." Vegeta nodded, then gave a sly smile.

"Your son is right, Kakarot." he said, "This girl is just as Saiyan as you... and as Saiyan as I." Goku was confused and was about to ask what he was talking about, when Vegeta beat him to the punch. "Gokéa is a Saiyan name, Kakarot- it means 'Heart of the Tiger.'"


	2. Names and Memories

***Hey All, Sarah the Author here! I was gonna put this in chapter one, but totally spaced! Anyway, this is a work in progress and I'm not totally up with all the DBZ plots- I started watching during the Majin Buu Saga and I've played DBZ Budakai. So, this story may not be totally accurate and it's definitely not following the TV plot lines. So I'm counting on you readers to tell me where I totally screw up, okay? And let me know if I should keep going. Now, ON WITH THE FIC!***

"What did you say?" Everyone looked over at Gokéa, who had awakened during Vegeta's story and heard what was said about her name. Before Vegeta could reply, the girl continued. "You were saying something about my name- is that really what it means?" Vegeta nodded.

"Yes, that is your name's true meaning." Gokéa gave a soft smile and pulled a necklace out from under the collar of her shirt. It was a silver chain with a small winged heart charm of the same color dangling from it. Gokéa removed the chain from her neck and cautiously handed it to Goku. It amazed her how gently the man took the necklace from her hand: in her recent experiences, really big muscular guys never did anything gently- Goku was different. He gave the necklace a going over before tossing it to Vegeta, who looked closely at it as well. On the front was her name, written in fancy lettering: Gokéa Li. 

"Look at the back." Goku told him. Vegeta flipped the heart over to see, in the same fancy lettering as the front: Heart of the Tiger. As he looked at the necklace, Vegeta felt as if he had seen the necklace somewhere before- a long time ago, on his home planet of Vegeta-sei... but where had he seen it?

"That's why I asked," Gokéa told him, bringing him to reality once again. "Arale... Mom found me when I was very young- she said I didn't look more than a year old. This necklace was around my neck, but neither of us really knew what to make of it."

"Are you all right?" asked Gohan, bringing everyone back to the present. Gokéa then remembered that only moments before she had fainted suddenly, probably scaring her rescuers at least a little bit.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm sorry if I frightened you but..." She looked directly at Vegeta. "I never thought I'd see you again." Vegeta figured that she was either scared of him or she blamed him for Arale's death. But there was no trace of fear in her eyes- instead, there seemed to be guilt. "Who are you, anyway?"

"My name is Vegeta." Gokéa was positive she had never heard his name before, but for some reason, it sounded so familiar to her. Not only his name, but his voice, another thing she had never heard before, was familiar as well. She didn't know why.

"I don't remember much of the fight we had, Vegeta," Gokéa continued after a moment. "Only that this surge of power went through my veins and I saw this orange light surround me. Then sometime later, I found myself alone and I started thinking about what happened. You never saw me there, Vegeta and that's why you fired at that man- I think you called him Karanin?" Vegeta nodded. "I don't blame you for my mother's death, Vegeta- I blame Karanin. I should probably be out looking for him, to avenge Mom's death but... something tells me if I just spend my life seeking revenge, my life won't have any meaning when I finally get it." Vegeta looked at her, confusion expressed on her face.

"Granted," he said. "You couldn't have been more than three years old back then, but that was over twenty years ago- you don't look much older than twelve." Gokéa cracked a smile.

"You're right," she said. "I was three at the time- a tormented three-year-old girl, without family; without anyone. So I locked myself in a state of constant training- for six months I was forced to train with the constant annoyances of everyday life... until I discovered the Time Warp Chamber."

"Time Warp Chamber?" asked Trunks. "What's that?" Gokéa shifted her gaze over to him and her smile widened.

"The Time Warp Chamber is a special room that slows down the aging process of whomever is inside, while the outside world continues as normal." He smile turned into a sly smirk. "Twenty years ago, I went in there at three- when I came out ten years later I was six." Goten thought for a moment- if his calculations served him well, Gokéa was a twenty three-year-old woman in a sixteen-year-old girl's body... way out of his league.

There was a silence that fell over the group. For a moment, Goku thought he could see into Gokéa's mind- there was not a bit of evil anywhere, no revenge filled her thoughts, nothing but peace... and a bit of sorrow. It had been a long since Arale's death, but Goku sensed that it hurt Gokéa as if it had been yesterday. A moment later, Goku began to speak.

"Gokéa, you said an orange light surrounded you that day," he said. "Has it ever happened again?" Gokéa nodded.

"Yes, it has," she replied. "I don't expect you to believe me, but whenever that happens, I became this incredible fighter- I'm a fair fighter, I'll admit, but when that light turns on, I become ten times better." Goku smiled causing Gokéa to ask him another question. "You believe me?"

"I believe you, Gokéa. It's known as powering up to a Super Saiyan- I do it myself."

"Goten and I did it to get the rocks off you," said Trunks, before introducing himself. Gokéa bit her lip, then stood up. Suddenly, an orange light surrounded her- her short black hair grew a bit longer and turned blonde; her brown eyes went to a bluish-green. The Z-fighters looked at her in awe- with the exception of maybe Vegeta, none of them had ever seen a lady Saiyan before- not even Pan could do this.

"Is this it?" she asked. Goku nodded.

"Amazing," he said. "Simply amazing. And you don't need to be mad to achieve this?" Gokéa shook her head.

"No," she replied. "Why?" After Goten explained that he and Trunks were the only Saiyans they knew of that could power up without being angry, Gokéa just nodded. She then powered down to regular Saiyan and looked at her clothes. "I'm a bit of a mess, aren't I?" Goku nodded.

"Come with us to my house," he said. "My wife will be glad to help you freshen up." Gokéa smiled and gave a nod.

"Okay. Where do I go?"

"Can you fly?" asked Goten. "If not, I'll be glad to carry you." Gokéa smiled and slowly rose into the air. Goten's jaw dropped. "Well, that answers that question."

Meanwhile, watching to group from a nearby cliff was a black haired muscular man. He was watching Gokéa very closely and gritted his teeth.

"You're supposed to be dead, little one," he said. "But no matter." He smiled. "I'll let you have your reunion, Vegeta. But it shall be brief- when the time comes, I will finish the job I started twenty years ago."

Gokéa felt more than a little strange when she walked into Goku's house and saw all the people there. Considering the fact that she lived and traveled alone, she wasn't really used to seeing so many people at one time.

"Chichi," said Goku. "This is Gokéa. She's going to be staying with us for a while. Gokéa, this is my wife, Chichi." Chichi was a very pretty woman, with her black hair rolled in a bun on top of her head. She smiled very pleasantly at Gokéa, reminding the girl of her mother. But it was the little girl that caught her eye- black hair, brown eyes... adorable.

"Hello there," Gokéa said. "What's your name?"

"Pan," the girl replied with a shy smile. Gokéa nodded, then looked over at another girl- she was a bit older than Pan and had blue hair and green eyes.

"My name's Bulla!" she said excitedly, causing Gokéa to laugh, but before she could say any more, Chichi's motherly instinct took over.

"Pleased to meet you, Gokéa," she said. "Come with me and we'll get you cleaned up and I will find you something to wear."

"Thank you ma'am," Gokéa replied, politely and followed Chichi to the bathroom, which was in the back of the house. As Chichi started a shower, Gokéa got a good look at herself in a full size mirror hanging on the bathroom door. That's when she realized her tail- it had been showing. She usually tried her hardest to hide her tail, mostly because those who saw it usually tried to pull it off- not only did that hurt, but it drained her power a great deal. She was about to try and hide it again, when Chichi turned around to face her.

"There," she said. "I hope that isn't too hot for you..." She noticed Gokéa was trying to hide her tail, causing her to laugh. "Oh, you don't have to worry about your tail, Gokéa- Goku and Gohan used to have ones just like it... you know, I think I have some of Gohan's old clothes with the hole for the tail still in them. You just get yourself cleaned up and I'll see if I can find them." Chichi rushed out the door, muttering something about "until I can repair yours," leaving Gokéa to herself. The girl smiled as she prepared to hop into the shower.

"These are some crazy people I've landed with," she thought. "But they're pretty cool anyway."


	3. Sparing Saiyans

Vegeta sat in Goku's kitchen, his chin resting on his hands which were clasped together in front on him. His wife, Bulma, the one person who loved him more than anything and understood him better than anyone, came up behind him and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Vegeta?" she asked. "Are you all right?" He shook his head.

"I don't know," he said. "There is something about this child- I can't put a finger on it, but it is as if I... have met her before." Vegeta looked up at Bulma. "I know I have met her before, but I feel as though it was even before that. What could it mean?" Bulma shook her head.

"I don't know, Vegeta," she replied, sadly. "But if it is truly important, than you will discover the answer."

"I can't believe these actually fit!" said a voice. Bulma and Vegeta looked towards the door to see Gokéa walking into the room, wearing an old set of Gohan's clothes. "And they're so comfortable!" she continued. "Having that place for my tail really changes things- this is great! And Chichi did a great job of fixing my glasses!"

As she giggled happily, the feeling returned to Vegeta- the feeling that he knew this child, back on Vegeta-sei. He knew it had to do with why he'd been chasing Karanin, but he had blocked out those memories long ago, for reasons not even he knew...

"Vegeta?" The girl's voice shook Vegeta from his thoughts. She had her head tilted to the right, an inquiring look upon her face. "You okay?" she asked. "You were lookin' at me kinda funny."

"I'm fine," he said sternly, shocking Gokéa more than a little bit. She didn't know why- she had seen this side of him before, even though it had been a while, but still, it surprised her. She was about to say she was sorry for annoying him, when Goku and Goten rushed into the room.

"Hey, Gokéa!" said Goten, excitedly. "I wanted to ask you if um... well, maybe would you um..." Goku looked at his son and shook his head.

"Gokéa," he said. "Goten wants to know if you'll spar with him." Gokéa's eyes lit up excitedly. She was about to reply, when Vegeta spoke up.

"Kakarot, are you out of your mind?" he exclaimed. "Having this, this, this **_girl _**go up against someone capable of becoming a Super Saiyan 3?!"

"Girl?" asked Gokéa, the excitement in her eyes turning to anger. "Wait one minute, Vegeta; I may have faired less than well in the last battle we shared, but that was twenty years ago- I've grown up since then." Her gaze shifted over to Goten. "Let's do this, Goten."

As everyone walked outside, Gokéa turned her attention towards Goku, a questioning look on her face again.

"Goku," she said. "Why does Vegeta call you 'Kakarot?'" Goku looked down at the girl and smiled. He didn't have to look down far he noticed- she was up to his shoulders.

"You see, Gokéa," he said. "Vegeta and I come from a planet known as Vegeta-sei, the planet of the Saiyans. "Kakarot" is the name I was born with- "Goku" was given to me by my grandfather when he found me as a baby." Gokéa nodded.

"A Saiyan Planet, eh?" she asked, looking over at Vegeta. "And you are named after this Planet?" Vegeta nodded.

"I was prince of Vegeta-sei." That's all he said, nothing else. And Gokéa didn't push him- just turned to Goku and asked more questions.

"What made you guys come to Earth, anyway?"

"I was sent here as a child to destroy this planet," Goku said. "But, when my grandpa found me, I didn't remember my mission. So, he raised be to be what I am today." Gokéa was intrigued.

"So all Saiyans come from Vegeta-sei?"

"Not all of us," said Trunks, who had been outside sparing with Gohan. "Goten, Gohan and I are only half Saiyan- born here on Earth. Dad and Goku are the only full blooded Saiyans we know of." Gokéa nodded again, but seemed to be lost in her thoughts. Then she looked at Vegeta.

"You said my name was a Saiyan name," she said to him. "And Mom didn't give me my name, like Goku's grandpa gave him his- it was on my necklace when she found me. And I've shown that I can power up to a Super Saiyan... does this mean I came from Vegeta-sei?"

"It's possible," he said. "I didn't really have much time to check your power levels, but you might be old enough to have gotten to earth before Vegeta-sei was destroyed." Gokéa seemed sad when she heard the planet was destroyed. It was something that Vegeta wasn't expecting.

"So, I'll never know," she said finally. "I'll never know if I had a family there or anything..."

Goten thought she was getting ready to cry. Her eyes were becoming soft, almost as though tears would run down her cheeks at any moment. But they never came- she looked at Goten and smiled.

"Ready?" she asked him. He nodded, excitedly. "Well, then- how do you want to start?" Goten looked confused until he realized what she was asking- Saiyan or Super Saiyan.

"Let's start off small," he replied. "Power up only when we need it." Gokéa nodded, and got into a stance- her feet were shoulder width apart; her arms at her side, the dragon charms on her bracelet resting on her clenched fists and her tail was casually floating behind her. Goku noticed that she was well prepared for anything Goten might throw at her- it would be amazing for any girl other than Gokéa, considering how much experience she really had. That had to be her greatest weapon- she seemed unwary to the unsuspecting eye.

That was when Goten attacked, firing a series of punches and kicks towards Gokéa... who dodged them all. After a few minutes of this, she began to fight back, countering Goten's attack then rapidly landing one of her own. As the fight continued, Goten soon powered up to Super Saiyan. Gokéa stayed down, but still did more than hold her own- she was kicking Goten's butt. Vegeta looked at the girl, totally amazed. There were not many female Super Saiyans back on Vegeta-sei... actually, he never remembered seeing any before Gokéa. That's when an unfamiliar sound filled the air, one that Vegeta only heard during matches that involved Goku- laughter. And it was coming from Gokéa. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and brushed her bangs out of her face.

"Not bad, Goten," she said with a smile. "But I think it's about time for me to kick it up a notch." Vegeta didn't like the sound of that and he liked it even less when he heard Gokéa let out a distinct yell- she was powering up. The orange light surrounded her once again- her hair grew longer and turned blonde; her brown eyes went to a bluish-green. She charged at Goten, attacking with a rapid assortment of punches and kicks before ramming her elbow into his back, sending him hurling towards the ground.

Goten was sure he was doomed to being in traction for at least a month and a half. He and Gokéa had been at least a mile up in the air, he was barely conscious, so there was no way he was going to come out of in in one piece... wait a second- why did he stop falling?

"Man, that would have really hurt. I'd hate to be you if I'd missed." Goten opened his eyes to see Gokéa holding him in her arms and smiling. "How 'bout we call this a draw?" she asked. "We'll give it another go when you feel up to it." Goten said nothing, but gave a nod. This girl was something else.

Meanwhile, back on the ground, Vegeta and Goku watched the scene- one with pride, the other with disgust.

"She shows compassion," Vegeta said. "It's a weak trait that will probably be the end of her..." Kakarot started babbling on about how compassion was a good thing, but Vegeta wasn't listening. What he had just said, "it's a weak trait and will probably be the end of her;" He had heard those words before... but they were being said to him, about himself.


	4. Flashback Vegeta Remembers

"You show too much compassion towards that girl, Vegeta. It shows weakness, and will be the death of you."

Fifteen-year-old Vegeta looked up at his father, ashamed. He was right of course- Saiyans were not supposed to be compassionate, not towards anyone... not even their little sisters. As his father continued to speak, Vegeta looked back at the girl in his arms, his sister. She was not even a year old, yet she had a full head of black hair and their mother's brown eyes shown brightly. And whenever she looked at Vegeta, she smiled like he was the only person she cared about. 

Around her neck was a silver necklace with a winged heart charm, her name engraved on the front and it's meaning on the back. Vegeta made sure that the best jeweler on Vegeta-sei worked on the necklace, and told them the necklace had to be perfect. Perfect it was- when Vegeta gave it to his sister, her eyes lit up and she giggled happily as he put it around her neck. Unusual for a seven month old girl, but Saiyans were anything but usual.

"Are you listening to me, Vegeta?!" his father yelled, causing the baby in Vegeta's arms to cry. Vegeta held the girl close.

"Shut up!" he yelled at his father. "You've made Gokéa cry!" The Saiyan King scowled at his Vegeta, then stormed away, angered that his wife bore him a second child that, unfortunately, ended up being a girl. And now the little wench was turning a once proud, brave fighter into a yowamiso, a weakling. Love did that to even the strongest Saiyan warrior- it was annoying.

Vegeta, meanwhile, had taken his young sister to her room and placed her in her crib. She had this habit of curling up in a ball, right next to the bars of the crib, and wrapping her tail around her body much like a tiger would do. He chuckled-his sister would have a heart like a tiger, much like her name suggested. Vegeta then covered her with a blanket and prepared to leave the room. Before making it out, however a sound came to Vegeta's ears that made him smile: Gokéa sighing in her sleep.

"Good night, little tiger," he said. "Sleep well."

"Security has been breached!" a guard cried as Vegeta walked into the surveillance room. He let out a low growl- enemies rarely made it inside the castle. As far as Vegeta knew, this was the first time ever.

"Where is he heading?" Vegeta demanded to know. The guard shook his head.

"He's not heading anywhere, sir." The guard pointed to a monitor that showed the entire layout of the castle, his finger landing on a specific room. "He entered here and hasn't moved since." Vegeta's face went pale and he clenched his fists to the point where his knuckles were white- the intruder was in Gokéa's room.

Vegeta rushed down the hallway towards Gokéa's room and grabbed for the handle on her door- locked. He gave the door one good kick and it came flying open. Vegeta's eyes narrowed as he took in the sight before him- a man standing next to a window. In his left hand, he held Gokéa by her tail, dangling her over the ledge.

"One step closer," he said. "And I drop her." Vegeta could hear the little girl whimpering, a combination of pain and fear. He couldn't bare to do anything but listen to him.

"Let her go," he said, backing away. "I don't know what you want, but I can assure you, she has nothing to do with it." The intruder let out a laugh, then stepped into the light. He couldn't have been much older or younger than Vegeta, with his black hair pulled back into a pony tail, and his dark green eyes staring directly into Vegeta's. The Saiyan Prince narrowed his eyes. "Karanin."

"Hn," said Karanin. "So you do remember me, Vegeta. Do you remember the day _you_ murdered _my_ sister?" Vegeta scowled.

"She was in the wrong place at the wrong time, you know that! I never meant to hit her! I could never hurt her!"

That was the truth. A year ago, Karanin and Vegeta had been a strange sort of friends- they seemed to see eye-to-eye on some things, but argued on everything else. One thing they had agreed on was that Karanin's twin sister, Aylí was the most beautiful Saiyan on Vegeta-sei. If the timing had ever been right, Vegeta planned to ask her to be his. But as all perfect things do, they end- Karanin and Vegeta found themselves fighting over Aylí, Karanin saying that he wouldn't let his sister marry a snobbish Prince and Vegeta saying it was better than having her marry a second class peasant. One thing lead to another and the next thing Vegeta knew, he and Karanin were engaged in a violent battle, with Aylí looking on, begging them to stop. After a few moments, Vegeta had had enough. He summoned all his powers in order to use a Final Flash to destroy Karanin... but Aylí jumped in the way, taking the hit.

"NO! AYLÍ!" Karanin took his sister's body in his arms, weeping bitter tears. "No... please no." Vegeta couldn't believe what he had done- he loved Aylí, he never wanted to hurt her.

"Karanin," he said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I-I'm..." Karanin shrugged his hand away and looked at him, fire in his eyes.

"This is your fault, Vegeta!" he cried. "And someday, when you least expect it, I will make you pay for killing her!"

"I told you I'd make you pay, Vegeta," Karanin said, swinging the baby Saiyan by her tail, to which she let out a terrified cry. "And little Gokéa is how I'll be taking payment."

"Do it and you're dead," Vegeta growled. Karanin tossed his head back and laughed.

"I'm not going to kill her in front of you, Vegeta," he said, menacingly. "I'm going to take her far away from here, then kill her. And when you finally find her, barely recognizing her little body, all you'll be able to do is wonder what I did." Vegeta clenched his teeth together before letting out an angered yell.

"Never!" Suddenly, Karanin leapt onto the windowsill and jumped out, landing in the cockpit of a waiting spaceship. Vegeta charged after him, stopping at the window just in time to see Karanin's ship lift off. "NO!"

Vegeta awoke with a start, sweat pouring down his face. The war with Karanin had started with Aylí and ended with Gokéa... or so he had thought. Three years later, when he finally found Karanin, the Saiyan refused to tell Vegeta where Gokéa was, let alone if she was still alive. He now realized what Karanin had done- he had left Gokéa where a human could find her, raise her and then he led Vegeta on a wild goose chase. After a while, Karanin took Vegeta back to where he had left Gokéa, and planned to have Vegeta kill her, just like he had killed Aylí.

Vegeta held his head in his hands. How could he have forgotten all of that? The destruction of Vegeta-sei, that was how. When he heard about that, he had forgotten everything... even the little sister he had loved so much. After that, all he cared about was becoming immortal, killing Kakarot... 

"It was him," he whispered. "He made me the cold hearted bastard that I am." He shook his head. "I just hope she never finds out."

Chi-Chi and Goku had offered to let Gokéa stay in Gohan's old room, but she had respectfully declined- after sleeping in trees for ten years straight, nothing else really felt comfortable. And, she'd been sleeping comfortably in her tree, when she had had the craziest dream. Some man had stolen her from her crib and was holding her by her tail out a window. She had been crying and crying hard... until she heard a voice. She looked up and saw a teenage boy standing in the doorway- it was Vegeta. She listened to the men argue, then her captor dived out the window, taking her with him.

For some reason, she suddenly snapped awake, falling off her branch. Her tail grabbed hold of the branch, saving her from falling- it wouldn't have been a bad fall. The worst of her injuries probably would have been a broken arm, but that would have put a damper on a rematch with Goten. She released her tail's grip on the branch and landed gracefully on the ground. She was confused. She had never had a dream that would cause her to almost fall out of her tree before. She ran her fingers through her hair and shook her head. Could her dream be true? Was Vegeta really her brother?


	5. Karanin's Strike

"Gokea? Gokea, are you up there?" Gokea let out a yawn and rolled over... falling out of her tree. "Hang on, I've got you!" Seconds later, she felt someone catch her- that someone was Pan. "I'm really sorry about that," the young Saiyan said, apologetically. "I didn't mean..." Gokea began to laugh.

"It's all right, Pan," Gokea replied. "I seem to have a thing for falling out of trees. So, what do you think?" Pan bit her lip and tilted her head to the side. Then, she smiled.

"Grandma Chi-Chi is making blueberry pancakes," she exclaimed. "We could go over there for breakfast, and I know Goten will want to see you!" Gokea blushed dark red- Goten did that to her. She didn't know why... but she did know she liked it.

"Okay, Pan- let's fly!"

Back at his home, Vegeta was just waking up. He sat up in bed and stretched out... and remembered the dream he'd had last night. He shook his head.

"She was the first person I ever cared about," he thought. "Back when I actually had a heart..."

"What are you thinking about, Vegeta?" Vegeta looked over and saw his wife lying next to him, a concerned look on her face. "You had a nightmare last night- I heard you cry out for Gokea. You remember where you saw her?" Vegeta sighed and slowly nodded.

"She's my baby sister, Bulma," he replied. A moment later, he told the whole story. About Karanin, Ayli... and of course, Gokea. "I actually loved someone once, Bulma- I mean someone before you and Trunks and Bulla. She was my weakness... and if Karanin finds her alive, he'll kill her. Like he said he would all those years ago." He put his head in his hands. "I forgot about her, Bulma. I went looking for her and when I couldn't find her I returned home. By then Freeza had destroyed Vegeta-sei and I went after him... and forgot about my little sister." Bulma sat up and put her arms around him.

"She's here now, Vegeta," she told him. "I know you can't change the past, but you can fix her future and let her know that she still has a family." Vegeta was about to reply, when he heard the doorbell ringing downstairs.

"I've got it!" yelled Bulla. There was a pause. "DADDY! MOMMY!" Vegeta rushed out of his room and down the stairs, leaving Bulma where she was, thanking God that the Super Saiyan slept in his boxers.

Downstairs, Vegeta couldn't believe what he was seeing- Gohan's only daughter lying on his doorstep, badly bruised and barely conscious.

"Pan," he said, shaking her. "What happened? Who did this to you?" The young quater Saiyan opened her eyes a crack and looked up at him.

"The bad man," she whispered. "He's after Gokea..." Pan suddenly passed out again. Vegeta to picked her up and took her into the living room, placing her on the couch. He then turned to his young daughter.

"Bulla," he said. "Get your mother down here to take care of Pan. Then call Kakarot and get him over here- can you do that?" Bulla nodded.

"No problem Daddy," she replied. "Is Pan gonna be okay?" Vegeta smiled slightly and gave a nod.

"Pan is strong, Bulla- she'll be just fine." That was the last thing he said to her- he walked out the door and flew off into the sunrise. His sister needed him.

Gokea wasn't always someone to bite off more than she could chew. But when she saw Karanin heading for Pan, doing just that was inevitable. Especially when Karanin fired a shot at them- the same Fireball that had nearly taken her life the day before. And the said Fireball was heading right for Pan.

"Pan, watch out!" Gokea managed to get to her before she got hit, but she couldn't get between her and the blast. She got behind Pan just as it hit. The Fireball was twice Pan's size and blasted both girls to the ground. "Pan!" Gokea had the girl in her arms- she looked like she'd... well like she'd been hit by a huge fireball. "Pan, please speak to me!" Pan opened her eyes. "Oh thank god!"

"Gokea?" Pan asked. "What's going on?" Gokea shook her head.

"Pan, listen- I need you to get home, to your Grandfather's house, wherever. Just get there and get help." The small Saiyan nodded and flew off. 

Gokea then turned her attention towards Karanin. His eyes were ice cold, as was the aura that surrounded him. Gokea's aura, on the other hand, was bright orange. The two wasted no words on each other- they just began to fight. Karanin blasted another fireball her way. Gokea easily dodged it and flew over to him at the speed of light. She slammed his foot upside his head, thrust her fist into his stomach, then rammed her elbow into his spine, sending him plumiting towards the ground. She flew down after him and watched him hit. Seconds later, she landed a few feet away and watched him struggle to get up. She wasn't about to grant him that satisfaction.

Gokea put a hand to her chest and let it hover over her heart. Suddenly, a brilliant white light formed in her palm. It grew bigger and brighter until finally Gokea was ready to release it.

"TIGER'S LIGHT!" Gokea extended her arm and flipped her hand around so her palm faced Karanin, who was slowly picking himself up off the ground. The white light left her palm instantly... except it no longer looked like a normal light. It now had the form of a Siberian Tiger's head. The tiger blasted Karanin and the Saiyan felt as though his blood was on fire. He thought his blood vessils would explode. Seconds later, he fell to the ground.

"That was for the life you almost ruined- You almost killed a little girl!" Karanin got back to his feet and glared at her.

"Foolish child!" he called back. "Do you even remember what this is about, what you're fighting for?!"

"I remember you, Karanin!" she yelled. "You lame excuse for a Saiyan- you prey on small children, separate families. Keh- you're nothing more than a snake, a cold blooded serpent that slithers on the gro..."

Karanin had never been much for post-fight lectures. Especially when he had to listen to them. So, obviously he had to shut Gokea up. And the best way of doing that was to teleport behind her and grab her tail. And he didn't just grab it- he pulled on it and lifted her in the air, with such velocity that her glasses fell to the ground. She let out a painful cry, causing Karanin to smile.

"Here we are again, Little Tiger," he whispered. "And this time, no twists of fate or elder brothers will be able to save you." That was the last thing Gokea heard- everything went black.

"Gokea! Gokea, where are you?!" Vegeta looked all over the countryside, but he couldn't find a trace of Gokea... until he spotted something on the ground, glistening in the sunlight. He flew down and picked it up- Gokea's glasses. "NO!"


	6. Vegeta to the Rescue?

"Okay Kakarot, that's the whole story. Now, this is going to be hard enough to do without you making a fuss, so keep it quiet. I- I need your help." Goku looked at him. It was rather strange that Vegeta was openly asking for assistance... but then again, he had seen stranger things.

"Vegeta," he said. "You and your family saved my granddaughter's life- what kind of person would I be if I didn't help you find your sister?"

"I'm coming too!"

Three voices made that comment. Vegeta looked into his living room- Pan was wide-eyed and awake, her little fists clenched at her sides. She was the first eager voice.

"Gokea saved me!" she cried. "I've gotta come so I can help her!" Vegeta shook his head, then looked towards the second voice- Trunks. The nineteen-year-old looked at his father, shrugged and gave a cocky half smile.

"Hey," he said. "She's my aunt and by far the absolute coolest person I've ever met- why wouldn't I want to save her?" The third voice belonged to Goten. He was staring out the window- not really looking at anything. Just staring.

"Gokea's a great kid," he said finally. "Even if she isn't really younger than me. Either way, she's my friend and I'm not going to let her get hurt."

"Oh give it up, Uncle Goten!" cried Pan, a mischievous grin on her face. Trunks smiled as well.

"Yeah, Goten," he said. "You're in love with her and you know it!" Goten suddenly began to blush and was about to defend himself, when Pan spoke up again.

"You know, Gokea did the same thing when I talked about you- she looked like a tomato with hair."

Gokea felt sick. Karanin had her locked in a room with a strange machine, one that had two metal clamps keep a firm grip on her tail. With her power drained as much as it was, she couldn't escape if she tried. She knew that she was helpless- for the first time in her life, she was completely helpless.

"Does this feel familiar, Little Tiger?" Gokea looked up to see Karanin's blurry figure staring down at her- what she'd give to have her glasses again. "It probably doesn't hurt as much now as it did when you were a child, but it keeps you still regardless."

"I won't be here long," she said. Her voice was weak, despite the circumstances, but it was still determined as ever. "Vegeta will come for me and he'll kill you for this." Karanin threw his head back and began to laugh.

"I expect him to come after you, Little Tiger..."

"Only my brother can call me that. Use it again, and when I get out of here, I'll rip your tongue out of that ugly head of yours." Karanin smiled and gave a mock bow.

"Forgive me, Gokea," he replied. Suddenly, he drove his foot in her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. "But, as I was saying, I expect Prince Vegeta to come after you. And when he gets here..." He chuckled. "He'll get to watch you die." Gokea gasped for air. As she did so, a run of words echoed through her mind. Saiyan words.

"Arkita dyamo mansita!" Karanin looked at her, anger flaring in his eyes.

"What did you say to me?!" Gokea smiled.

"My Saiyan may be a little rusty," she replied. "But I'm pretty sure that I just called you a Son of a Bitch." Karanin wasted no time in grabbing her by the throat and lifting her into the air. The clamps kept a firm hold on her tail, causing Gokea to cry out in pain.

"I'd hate to deprive your brother of seeing you again," he said, menacingly. "But speak to me like that again, and I'll break your neck." Gokea gasped for breath... which she used to laugh in his face.

"He's better than you've ever been, better than you'll ever be. And he's going to kil..." That was the last thing she said. She closed her eyes and continued to laugh at him, not seeing his fist head for her face. She felt the blood running down her face and opened her eyes.

"Pity, Little Tiger. Vegeta shall have to miss the best part of the show- the part where I beat you to a pulp." An hour later, Karanin let Gokea's lifeless body drop to the ground. "You're not dead yet, Little Tiger. But you'll soon wish you were."

Meanwhile, Vegeta was getting ready to find Karanin and make him pay for what he'd done. He took five seconds to look out at the evening sky. He instantly froze.

"Dad?" asked Trunks. "Dad, what's wrong?" Vegeta took a deep breath and shook his head.

"The night sky is red- blood has been shed this day." Trunks was about to comment, when a voice from out of nowhere called his father's name.

"I know you can hear me, Prince Vegeta- answer me now." Vegeta clenched his fists together and let out a low growl.

"Karanin, you swine!" he yelled. "Where is Gokea?!" Karanin began to laugh.

"Your Little Tiger is holding on to what little life she has left," came the reply. "You should be glad to know that I'm giving her more of a chance than you gave Ayli."

"Damn it, that was an accident! I'd never purposely hurt Ayli, I loved her!"

"Just as your father loved Gokea? Did he ever tell you that he was the reason I came after her?"

"What are you talking about?" Vegeta snarled.

"Your father knew your sister was making you weak- that your compassion for her was your downfall. And he knew that I hated you for what you'd done to Ayli. It was the perfect ruse- what looked like a plot for revenge was really about you. In a way, Vegeta- I made you stronger." Vegeta was infuriated and was about to lash out at Karanin... when he realized that he was right. His father always hated Gokea, even if she was his child, and getting rid of her would serve his purposes.

"Where is she, Karanin?"

"I've taken her home, Vegeta- back to where you almost took her life... and in turn, she almost took yours." That was the end. Vegeta turned to Goku and shook his head.

"He's taken her back to Penguin Village."


	7. The Defeat

"Where the Hell am I?"

"Well, you're not in Hell, but we could fix that if you wish." Gokea looked at her surroundings... and she didn't like what she saw. First, she noticed that she was on a cliff that overlooked her old home. Second, she was tightly bound with about fifty pounds of steel chain. Third, Karanin was holding her, by her tail, over the cliff. "Vegeta will be here soon," he told her. "And he may not kill you, like I'd originally planned, but he will watch you die."

Gokea ignored him- her mind was on something else. Karanin had said that a twist of fate had saved her life twenty years ago. She was trying to remember what he was talking about.

"You never remember the important things," she thought. "Either way, it won't matter in a few minutes."

"Karanin!" Gokea's head shot up- Vegeta was standing in front of them, arms crossed over his chest. Karanin smiled and gave Gokea's tail a jerk, causing the Saiyaness to wince. She wanted to cry out so bad, but if she didn't stay strong, how could she expect Vegeta to?

"Here we are again, Vegeta," said Karanin. "You're over there, I'm over here, Gokea is looking down over her death... oh the suspense is killing me." He let go of her tail.

"GOKEA!" Vegeta tried to grab her, but Karanin stopped him in his tracks with a kick to his stomach. Vegeta recovered quickly, thrusting his fist into Karanin's face, not once but repeatedly. The one who thought he would take down the Saiyan Prince found himself to be no match for him. "Let's end this!" Vegeta knocked Karanin to the ground. He put his arms together in front of him. "FINAL FLASH!" A blue ball of lightning burst from his palms, annihilating Karanin once and for all. "Gokea," Vegeta whispered. "It is over... GOKEA!"

Gokea struggled with her chains, but was to no avail. She hadn't recovered from her tail almost being pulled off. If she had, those chains would have been off by now. Oh and she was having trouble flying, so she was speeding down to her death. She closed her eyes and awaited the death she knew would come. Seconds later she landed... but it didn't hurt a bit.

"Man, that was close- I'd hate to be you if I'd missed." Gokea opened her eyes. Goten was holding her in his arms, smiling. Gokea smiled back.

"You ready for that rematch?"

"Hi Gokea!" Pan flew up along side them, smiling. "Are you gonna kiss him, huh are ya?"

"She's got a good question, Goten," said Trunks, flying down beside them. "Are you gonna kiss her or what?" Gokea smiled and looked Goten in the eyes.

"Yeah, Goten- are you gonna kiss me or what?"


End file.
